Superannuation expert Pascale Helyar-Moray says you could be costing yourself in retirement if you don’t check in on your nest egg regularly. (Source: Getty)
Australians are being urged not to be “lazy” with their superannuation and ensure their nest eggs are in the best possible accounts. For many, super might be something that gets created for you, and it’s a set-and-forget asset that bubbles away without much thought.
New research from Finder revealed 32 per cent of people were still with the same default super fund from their first employer. While that might not necessarily be a bad thing, Finder superannuation literacy expert Pascale Helyar-Moray told Yahoo Finance Aussies should grab their super by the horns and make more informed decisions about it.
“Review your super fund performance regularly. Put very simply, performance should be high, and fees should be low,” she said.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a free service that allows you to check your super fund’s performance and fees against others.
All you have to do is put your age and super balance amount into the tool, and you can be shown dozens of options.
Yahoo Finance tested this and found 54 different funds to choose from, with the lowest 10-year net return rate being 5.55 per cent and the highest being 7.66 per cent.
That lowest account had a $671 annual fee, while the highest cost $1,121 per year.
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Finder revealed that if you had $100,000 in your super balance, you could increase your nest egg by $186,876 over 30 years if your average rate of return (excluding fees) was increased from 6 per cent to 7 per cent.
It said that failing to move your super to a better fund and getting a bigger nest egg was like getting hit with a “lazy tax”.
The consumer group’s research showed that 26 per cent of people were with the default super of their current employer, while 41 per cent were with a fund of their choice.
Helyar-Moray told Yahoo Finance it’s good to have a regular “pulse-check” on your fund to make sure the investment choices are right for your age.
When you’re younger, you might have a higher risk appetite, which could lessen over the decades as you approach retirement and want to be less at the whim of major market changes.
But the superannuation expert said everyone was different, and that’s why they need to be in more control of their retirement fund.
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“Super funds or your financial advisor can give you this advice,” she said.
“Just because you hit the age of 60, for example, it doesn’t mean that you should automatically change gears when it comes to your risk profile.
“If you’re planning on retiring at 70, for example, then it might not be appropriate to do it.”
Aussies have been urged to have a check on their superannuation performance to make sure it’s right for their age and risk appetite. (Source: Getty) · courtneyk via Getty Images
Finder revealed earlier this year that Aussies were wasting an eye-watering amount of money from being lazy.
Also called a “loyalty tax”, the consumer group found Aussies paid $4.5 billion from sticking with the same electricity, mobile and broadband providers in 2023, when they could have found cheaper options elsewhere.
That’s $331 per person.
“These are all utilities you can’t do without. But that doesn’t mean you should be stuck paying more than you need to,” Finder tech and utilities expert Mariam Gabaji said.
“Providers really want your business – for example, some energy companies are offering $150 in credit or up to 15,000 Qantas points.
“If you haven’t switched utility providers – be it electricity, internet, or phone – in the last 12 months, you’re probably paying too much.”
Recent data from Westpac also found that three in 10 Aussies admitted to losing up to $600 a year on duplicate subscription services and apps they no longer use.
The most common reason for overspending was forgetting to cancel a trial before auto-renewal (38 per cent), followed by paying for subscriptions they had forgotten about (32 per cent), and difficulty cancelling a subscription (31 per cent).
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